Perdue Foods said on Wednesday it has stopped using antibiotics at its chicken hatcheries, completing a five-year effort.  The company said it does not use antibiotics for growth promotion in its chicken production, and has not since 2007.  Perdue does use an animal-only antibiotic to control an intestinal parasite, and will use antibiotics to treat and control illness in sick flocks.

“By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we’ve reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics, and the remainder receive them only for a few days when prescribed by a veterinarian,” said Dr. Bruce Stewart-Brown, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Operations for Perdue Foods, in a press release.

Perdue’s press release accompanying the announcement can be read in its entirety on the company’s website by clicking here.

“By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we’ve reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics, and the remainder receive them only for a few days when prescribed by a veterinarian,” said Dr. Bruce Stewart-Brown, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Operations for Perdue Foods. – See more at: http://www.perduefarms.com/News_Room/Press_Releases/details.asp?id=1104&title=Perdue%20Foods%20reaches%20milestone%20in%20reducing%20antibiotic%20use,%20sets%20standard%20for%20responsible%20use#sthash.CT3mekmL.dpuf

“By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we’ve reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics, and the remainder receive them only for a few days when prescribed by a veterinarian,” said Dr. Bruce Stewart-Brown, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Operations for Perdue Foods. – See more at: http://www.perduefarms.com/News_Room/Press_Releases/details.asp?id=1104&title=Perdue%20Foods%20reaches%20milestone%20in%20reducing%20antibiotic%20use,%20sets%20standard%20for%20responsible%20use#sthash.CT3mekmL.dpuf
“By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we’ve reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics, and the remainder receive them only for a few days when prescribed by a veterinarian,” said Dr. Bruce Stewart-Brown, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Operations for Perdue Foods. – See more at: http://www.perduefarms.com/News_Room/Press_Releases/details.asp?id=1104&title=Perdue%20Foods%20reaches%20milestone%20in%20reducing%20antibiotic%20use,%20sets%20standard%20for%20responsible%20use#sthash.CT3mekmL.dpuf
“By no longer using any antibiotics in our hatcheries or any human antibiotics in feed, we’ve reached the point where 95 percent of our chickens never receive any human antibiotics, and the remainder receive them only for a few days when prescribed by a veterinarian,” said Dr. Bruce Stewart-Brown, Senior Vice President of Food Safety, Quality and Live Operations for Perdue Foods. – See more at: http://www.perduefarms.com/News_Room/Press_Releases/details.asp?id=1104&title=Perdue%20Foods%20reaches%20milestone%20in%20reducing%20antibiotic%20use,%20sets%20standard%20for%20responsible%20use#sthash.CT3mekmL.dpuf